AUTHOR’S BOOKSHELF

Three books that inspired Abigail Marsh while writing Good For Nothing

ON HUMAN NATURE BY EDWARD O WILSON (£ 24.95, HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS)

This lucid, seminal book explained human social behaviours, including aggression and love, in terms of basic principles of biology. It helped break down the barriers between the natural and social sciences, and paved the way for my discipline, social neuroscience.

MOTHERS AND OTHERS BY SARAH BLAFFER HRDY (£ 17.95, HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS)

A fascinating exploration of communal parenting around the world, this book persuasively dismantles the insane idea that human babies should be tended to by a single caregiver. In doing so, it showcases the many forms of care that permeate our societies.

MOTHER TONGUE BY BILL BRYSON (£9.99, PENGUIN)

The first time I read this book about the English language I was nearly kicked out of a library for laughing too loudly. Bryson makes potentially obscure topics such as grammar and etymology vivid and accessible, which I hope is also the case for my discussions of fear, care and the brain.

Rescuers and volunteers look for survivors in a textile factory that collapsed two days after the recent Mexican earthquake